Ella Samuel

I am a junior undergraduate student at College of the Atlantic and am primarily interested in conservation biology and plant ecology. I have conducted research relating to climate change and plant ecology, climate change and carbon exchange processes, fire ecology and plant succession, and the effects of dam removal on ecosystem health and plant succession. In addition, I have contributed to management projects pertaining to invasive species, and restoration projects focused on the reintroduction of native plants to degraded ecosystems. I intend to explore new avenues in restoration ecology.

This winter I will work for North Spore, a mushroom cultivation company in Portland, ME to supplement my restoration knowledge and experience with mycology and mycoremediation information. I will also begin a senior project with Dr. Nishi Rajakaruna to investigate strategies for stabilizing toxic mine tailings at Callahan Mine in Brookesville, ME. For the project, I will analyze vegetative responses to different substrates, including toxic soil and soil amended with components like lime, organic matter, and mycorrhizae. This project constitutes the field component of earlier work conducted by William Batt.